


Under The Mirror

by sonoflight



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, MerMay, merman!Klaus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 09:09:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18891535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonoflight/pseuds/sonoflight
Summary: Dave settles his sunglasses over his face and closes his eyes. It’s a beautiful day—pleasantly warm, a faint breeze cooling the afternoon air against what would otherwise be blistering; the water is pleasant as well from the mild night before and a morning under the sun. Dave is just drifting off when he’s overcome by the distinct feeling of being watched. Very slowly, he cracks his eyes open. His gaze drifts lazily down and to the right and locks with a pair of bright green eyes peering out from under a curtain of dark hair. He nearly falls clean off the rock. It’s a merman.





	Under The Mirror

**Author's Note:**

> *Rolls up to the party with a mermay fic that no one asked for* Wassup, y'all, I know mermay is mostly over, but I still made it! Title comes from the song ["Aquaman"](https://open.spotify.com/track/71wT7aMCFPYfzutF66OLac?si=FFSJA7kFTgap7_TVpgXZaQ) by Walk the Moon, which incidentally fits these two really well. Enjoy!

The beach house sits nestled among a patch of deep green plants. Dave turns into the drive slowly, squinting at the brass numbers on the side of the house. 7348. Yep, this is the right place. Satisfied that he won’t be accidentally letting himself into somebody else’s house, Dave puts his car in park and cuts the engine.

The house had proven rather difficult to find—surprisingly so, actually. Well, maybe not too surprising. Nondescript and almost invisible where it’s sandwiched between two much larger houses, it’s nothing to brag about. Just a tiny, one bedroom, one bathroom little cottage of a place—but it’s perfect for Dave.

As he walks from his car up to the peeling wooden door, he takes stock of the house’s exterior. It’s a charming periwinkle color with off-white trim, both colors faded and a little dirty from years exposed to the elements. Four worn wooden steps lead up to a small porch furnished modestly with a hanging seat, a friendly “Welcome” mat, and a stone statue of a mermaid by the door.

Dave pulls his phone out of his pocket and checks the most recent text from the house’s owner. According to her, the keys should be under the mermaid statue, or “Delores,” as she’s named. There’s only the one mermaid statue that Dave can see, so that must be Delores. Slinging his duffel onto his back, Dave drops down to his knees in front of the statue. Gingerly, he tilts Delores back and feels around under her hollow base for the keys. His hand closes around the ring, and he withdraws his hand and sets Delores back down.

He has to wiggle the key in the lock a bit—which he was warned about—before the door opens, and when it does, Dave is hit by that wonderful old book smell, mixed with just a hint of ocean salt. He inhales deeply. It already feels like home. Admittedly, it’s only his home for the next two weeks, but Dave is of the opinion that every little moment should matter.

The first thing he does is take his bag to the bedroom, drop it onto the bed, and dig around for a pair of swim trunks and his sandals. It’s only mid-morning, which leaves him plenty of time, but he wants to get in as much beach time as possible. This is, after all, his only vacation for the year, then it’s back to unloading trucks and stocking shelves at his family’s hole-in-the-wall grocery store in Atlanta.

After quickly changing and applying a coat of sunscreen, Dave heads down toward the beach. The walk is short, with the boardwalk out back leading straight to the powdery dunes and their blankets of tall beach grass. The ocean breeze ruffles his hair, and even with his sunglasses on, the glare of the sun off of the gentle waves creates dark spots in his vision as he surveys the length of the beach. He hefts his bag over his shoulder and takes his first step onto the soft sand.

The beach is already packed with other vacationers. Mostly families—parents and kids playing together near the water—but also groups of young friends hanging out, surfers waxing their boards, retirees reading books under umbrellas, and a few fishers on the pier.

Rather than try to stake out a vacant spot to settle into here, Dave, making a quick decision, heads left, intending to find a slightly less occupied stretch of beach. Off in the distance, the even, pretty beach gives way to rocky land that the waves crash against loudly; just the looks of it has deterred most people, but Dave fancies himself to be of the braver sort.

As he approaches the rocks, his sandals sink less into the sand and instead hit solid ground. With each step, he climbs higher and higher, until he’s looking over his shoulder to find the beach a dizzying, almost frightening distance below him. He turns forward again, squinting against the light and finishing his climb to the rocks’ summit.

The view is beautiful, and he shuffles as close to the edge as he dares to take it all in. Before him is the ocean horizon, below him a sheer cliff face plummeting to meet the frothy waves. Farther on, the rocks slope down, gently at first, then more steeply, to a sort of cove, which appears unoccupied. Dave can see why. If the ascent to this point was difficult, the way toward the cove looks downright dangerous. Dave, however, is adventurous by nature, and curious too. So once he’s gotten his fill of the ocean view and the waves crashing below, he continues on, beginning the descent to the other side of the rocks.

The climb down proves a lot trickier to navigate than Dave first anticipated. He was right about the first stretch being manageable—apart from a few iffy spots, it’s just like the ascent but in reverse. The closer he gets to the cove, though, the harder it gets, pieces of rock breaking loose, crevasses and holes lurking everywhere. He loses his footing several heart-stopping times, and once, he almost ends up stuck straddling the space between two rocks. And then he’s staring down an almost completely vertical slide to the cove.

“Okay, Dave,” he pants. He adjusts his footing. A few pebbles break loose and tumble toward the sand. “You got this.” With one reinforcing exhale, he very carefully starts to scoot down the rock face. He’s sweating by the time he reaches the bottom, but he lets out an exhilarated little laugh.

He turns his attention to the cove. It’s a quaint little notch in the beach, surrounded on all sides by the same towering rocks he had just braved. The rocks slope and drop down to a tiny, pristine beach, against which the ocean laps gently. Some seagulls are fishing around in the tide pools set into the rocks, or chasing the silver minnows through the shallows. There’s a light breeze that ripples over the water and makes it shimmer. It’s perfect.

Satisfied, Dave lays out a towel on the sand and places his bag, which contains his sunscreen, his phone, a second towel, and a book, right on top. He then slips his sandals off, tugs his shirt over his head, and takes a few steps into the water. He stands there for a moment, letting his toes sink into the cool sand while the waves splash against his ankles. Feeling like a kid again, he takes a few steps forward, then a few more, until he’s up to his waist in the water. The sea cools his heated skin, a feeling so refreshing that, wanting more, he bends his knees to let the water wash over his shoulders and neck. He doesn’t dunk his head under, even though he kind of wants to, but he swims around for a while, enjoying the quiet solitude.

Once he’s had his fill of swimming, Dave returns to shore and flops down on his towel. He checks his phone to make sure he hasn’t missed anything important. There are a few notifications asking if he can cover shifts, a text from his brother, a couple spam emails—but nothing that can’t be saved for later. Instead of responding to anything, he swaps his phone for his book and loses himself to the story.

The rest of the day passes quickly, and soon enough, Dave is packing up to avoid having to climb back over the rocks in the dark. In retrospect, sliding down a large rock formation without thinking about how he might get back up was not his smartest move. That’s how people get stranded. Thankfully, he can see a slightly worn path farther back from the water that will take him back up the rocks with minimal trouble.

He’s just about to head that way when something catches his eye—movement in his periphery, over on the other side of the beach, among the rocks peeking out of the surf. His first thought is that it’s a gull, but no, that can’t be right. They’d all taken off hours ago, and he hadn’t seen a single one while he was gathering his things. And call him crazy, but he could’ve sworn whatever had moved had been… purple. Maybe someone had drifted over? Or maybe someone had lost an inner tube. Dropping his bag, Dave jogs over to investigate.

He finds nothing. “Hello?” he calls, thinking perhaps he’s just looking in the wrong place. “Is anyone there?” No one answers, though Dave waits for a good five minutes before giving up. Oh well. It was probably just his imagination.

~

Getting ready the next morning, he finds that he’s accidentally popped the lens out of his sunglasses. He curses. It probably happened when, after he’d returned to his beach house and made for the shower, he’d tossed his bag into a corner, not really thinking about the possibility of his sunglasses getting caught between his hardcover book and the hardwood floor.

It’s no sweat, really, since he’d planned on exploring the town a bit anyway. There’s bound to be at least a couple of souvenir shops where he can get a new pair of sunglasses and maybe a cute trinket to take home. And if he has time afterward, he can go back to the beach.

He finds himself in a little place called Patch’s Souvenirs, waving to the woman stocking shelves as he enters. It wasn’t the first shop he’d seen, but it’s the one with the largest sunglasses display, and it is by far the least crowded. Probably because, other than the sunglasses, the wares are a little more niche than the average tourist family might seek out. There aren’t any towels or beach chairs, nor are there any children’s toys or floaties. There’s just a shelf full of books—historical, geographical, and the likes—a display of shells and fossils, some shark tooth jewelry, a few postcards, some t-shirts, and some art prints.

Dave is paging through a book on local flora when a conversation off to his right catches his attention.

“Here, you might like this one,” a woman says. “It’s a guide to some of the rarer species around. I know you said you mostly bird-watch, and this book has lots of birds—but I really think you’ll find the other animals fascinating too.”

Dave surreptitiously glances over. It’s the employee he’d said hello to earlier and an older woman. The employee—Eudora, her nametag reads—is handing her customer the book.

The woman thumbs through the book thoughtfully for a while, then laughs. “What’s this?” she asks. “There’s a page on… mermaids?”

“Oh, that!” Eudora laughs too. “That’s kind of a joke page. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we’ve had our fair share of alleged sightings, but I think the author might’ve been plugging a little for his other book about local legends around here.”

“Well, that’s alright,” the woman says. “I was just curious. Mind if I hold onto this? I’m just gonna look around a little more.”

“Of course. I’ll be up at the register if you have any more questions.”

“Thank you, dear.”

After that, Eudora walks away and the woman continues her shopping. Dave doesn’t move from where he’s still pretending to read the book he’s holding. His heart is pounding. Now, logically speaking, he’s probably being silly and getting excited over nothing, but the mention of mermaids had immediately piqued his interest. It has him thinking about what he saw yesterday. The flash of purple in the corner of his eye. The mysterious lack of anything that could’ve caused it. What if he’d seen a mermaid?

He almost gets the courage to ask Eudora when he takes his new sunglasses to the register, but he chickens out at the last second. Instead, he takes his bag and receipt and asks, “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

Eudora smiles back. “Sure thing!”

“Is there a library around here? Or a bookstore?”

“Yeah.” Eudora points out beyond the glass storefront. “If you just head down the road, there’s the local library. It’s free to the public, but you’ll need a local address to check anything out.”

Dave hums. “I’m staying nearby at a beach house for a couple weeks—will that work?”

“Depends,” Eudora says. “They usually handle situations like that on a case by case basis. You might have to leave some info behind so they can ensure you won’t make off with one of their books, but I think for you, you can probably check a couple things out.”

“Cool.” Dave nods. “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” Eudora says. “Have a nice day!”

“You too!”

Feeling more excited than he probably should, Dave heads off in the direction Eudora had pointed him. Sure enough, he comes across the library, a humble building with a sign welcoming patrons inside. A tiny bell rings when Dave opens the door.

“Hi, how can I help you?” a librarian greets. He’s a large, friendly looking man, and he sets his cart of books aside to come talk to Dave.

Dave surveys the shelves before him. “I’m looking for references about mermaids?” he says.

The librarian nods. “Elaborate. Anything specific?”

“Uhhh.” Dave considers how honest he wants to be. On the one hand, he wants to get as much information as possible. Writings erring on the more factual side, if any such thing exists, would be best for that. One the other hand, though, he doesn’t want this guy to think he’s a complete headcase. “Well, I’m researching cryptid sightings,” he says slowly. “So I guess any accounts from people who claim to have seen mermaids would be good? And if there’s any information about local sightings.”

The man thinks for a moment, then nods. “Follow me.” He leads Dave to a shelf full of supernatural encounters and mysterious sightings. “There should be some things here that can help you, and the shelf behind you has more general information about mythological creatures. Feel free to have a look at anything, and you can leave everything on a table when you’re done, and we’ll take care of it all. The name’s Hazel, by the way. Just come up to the front desk if you need me.”

Hazel leaves him then, and Dave begins his browsing. It’s slow going and not very fruitful. There’s less than a dozen articles about supposed mermaid sightings around this area, none of which match with what Dave saw. They mostly describe vague memories of a woman singing and luring them to the water, but all of those end with the author waking up safe, with no memory of what she looked like. So definitely fake. The rest of them are almost surely fake as well, seeming to describe over-active imaginations catching sight of vaguely mermaid-shaped driftwood.

Everything else on the shelves are just general things about mermaids. Old folk tales, new folk tales, conspiracy theories. Nothing that gets him any closer to figuring out if the flash of purple he saw was indeed a mermaid. It’s a dead end.

Disappointed, he closes the last book he’d pulled from the shelf and stacks it all onto the table in neat piles. He’s wasted nearly the whole day in the library, and he’s ready to admit defeat when a thought strikes him. Maybe Eudora knows something. She seemed pretty knowledgeable about local happenings, and her knowledge might be just what Dave needs. He hurries that way, hoping to catch her before the store closes.

“Hi, welcome to Patch’s,” she says from where she’s crouched down by an open box of postcards, her back turned to him. “Just give me a sec, I’ll be right with you.”

Dave waits with his hands shoved awkwardly in the pockets of his shorts while Eudora finishes restocking the postcards. It’s nearly half an hour until the shop closes, but he still feels a little bit like an asshole coming in so late, especially since he’s only here to ask about something that is seeming more improbable by the second. Before he can change his mind and leave, though, Eudora turns back around.

“Oh!” she says. “Hi, you were in earlier, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” Dave says. He holds out a hand. “I’m Dave.”

“Eudora,” Eudora says, then laughs nervously. “Which I guess you already knew. Name badge and all. Anyway, what can I help you find?”

Dave clears his throat. “Actually, I wanted to ask you something.”

“If you’re here to ask if I’m single, the answer is no.” Eudora raises an eyebrow.

“No!” Dave exclaims. “Oh my god no, I—are there mermaids around here?”

“What?” Judging by the shock in her voice and the look on her face, it’s clearly not what Eudora had been expecting him to say.

“I mean, have you heard of any real sightings? Not hoaxes.” Dave wants to slap himself. This was a terrible, stupid idea, and he looks like a total fool. _Real mermaid sightings_. As if there’s ever been credible evidence to back up a claim.

To his surprise, though, Eudora doesn’t laugh. In fact, she looks like she’s very carefully thinking about the question. “I have heard of one,” she finally says. “It might sound crazy to you, though.”

“Try me.”

Eudora chuckles, then takes a deep breath. “A friend of mine went out for a walk on the beach one night—this was nearly five years ago. She ended up going to this little cove—well, it’s technically a private beach, but the owner, Ms. Grace, doesn’t care who uses it as long as you don’t leave a mess. Anyway, she was hanging out on a rock, just stargazing, when she got the feeling she was being watched. She looked over to her left, and bam, she came face to face with a merman staring up at her from the water. She said she was so scared she nearly tumbled into the water.”

Dave exhales excitedly. “She’s sure it was a merman?”

Eudora nods. “Yep. Apparently, he pulled himself up out of the water and was like, studying her face, and she got a really good look at his tail.”

“What color?” Dave’s heart races. What if he’d caught a glimpse of the same merman as Eudora’s friend?

“Black, I think,” Eudora says. “Yeah, she said it was black.”

Dave does his best to hide his disappointment. “Not purple?”

“No, she said—” A grin spreads across Eudora’s face. “Oh my god. You saw a merperson. Didn’t you? That’s why you’re asking all these questions!”

Dave flushes. “It’s just a hunch. I don’t really know what I saw. But… I think it might’ve been in the same spot as where your friend had that encounter with the merman. Is it a really difficult cove to access?”

“You mean blocked off by rock formations?”

Dave nods.

“Then yep, you were in Ms. Grace’s cove. God, this is exciting! That means there’s at least two merpeople around here.”

“Yeah…” Dave grins, thinking about how he may have seen a real life mermaid. “Hey, what happened after the merman got in your friend’s face? Did she ever see him again?”

Eudora hums. “Good question. She said he swam off when he heard a noise from Ms. Grace’s house up above, but she’s never mentioned anything about going back.” She shrugs. “I can text and ask her, though, if you’re curious.”

“No, that’s fine,” Dave says. “I think I’m gonna head home and turn in for the night, get out of your hair. Thanks for letting me ask weird questions, by the way. I was a little worried you’d think I was a raving lunatic, coming in and asking about mermaids.”

“It’s no problem,” Eudora says. “I grew up here—I’m used to weird tourists.”

Dave laughs. “Yeah, I guess I do qualify as weird tourist. Well, anyway,” he waves as he backs toward the door. “Night!”

“Night,” Eudora answers. “Lemme know if you ever see that mermaid again!”

Dave flashes her a thumbs up, then leaves, hurrying back to his beach house to gather his things. He’s got an idea.

~

It’s almost midnight by the time he makes it back to the cove. He’d wanted to come earlier in the night, but his day at the library had left him surprisingly drained, and he’d decided a nap was in order. It was only a few hours, but he’s glad he took the time.

When he gets down to the small beach, he settles behind a large rock away from the water and unpacks what he needs. He has a pair of binoculars, his phone to take pictures, a pad of paper to write on, and a few pencils to write with. Once it’s all spread out before him, he sits back on his feet and waits.

He’s not there more than twenty minutes when he sees a head break the surface of the water. With shaking hands, he lifts the binoculars to his eyes. A merman. He’s about to try to creep a little closer, when he stops short. Other heads are emerging from the water, joining the first merman. There are seven in total.

He takes a couple of pictures, and then sets up his phone to record them. They’re swimming around, laughing and talking in a language Dave can’t understand. Oddly enough, they don’t seem like they’re trying to hide, leaping out of the water and exposing their tails without concern. The largest of the mermen even hauls himself up onto a rock, only to be tackled off by one of the others while the rest cheer him on.

He supposes they have no reason to believe they’re being watched by a human, since this is a private beach and it’s the middle of the night—it explains the careless way the two mermen let their black and blue tails flash in the moonlight as they wrestle.

As he observes the seven, he takes down notes. Unless he’s mistaken, there’s five mermen and two mermaids. There’s the two mermen wrestling—one of them large and muscular, the other smaller but no less strong-looking; a mermaid with long coiled hair cascading down her back and a petite, quiet mermaid chatting and watching the wrestling match; a pair of mermen, one with dark, slicked back hair and one who looks a lot younger than the rest, playing some sort of game with seashells on a flat rock; and—Dave’s breath catches—a merman lounging near the two playing their game, purple tail disappearing into the water.

The scene settles as the night wears on. The two mermen tire of wrestling and instead join the purple-tailed one in watching the seashell game. The mermaids join too, and every so often, one of the five audience members will make a comment—maybe strategic advice?—to one of the two players.

From the group’s interactions, Dave can sketch out the apparent dynamics and roles. The two who were wrestling are the leaders, no doubt about it, and the taller of the two mermaids appears to be their third-in-command. After that, though, rank seems to matter less. Even though they’re competing, the two seashell game players seem to get along and recognize each other as having complementary intelligence. The small mermaid is closest with the other mermaid, but she’s definitely more reserved, interjecting less during conversation. Now, the purple-tailed one is the one Dave is most curious about because he doesn’t appear to have a set place in the group. He talks to all of them equally, and they all roll their eyes fondly at him and laugh at things he says.

If Dave had to guess, he’d say they’re a family. It wasn’t his first thought, since they all look so wildly different, but their dynamic would suggest that they at least think of each other as siblings. Maybe merpeople are prone to adopting others, just like humans? Dave makes a note of the possibility.

All of a sudden, a notification for 20% battery appears on his phone. That’s his cue to leave, then. As quietly as he can, he drops his things back into his bag. He stands, keeping low and close to the outskirts of the cove, and makes his way back to the path up the rocks. He trusts the shadows to keep him hidden, not wanting to be spotted by the group for fear that he’ll scare them off and never have another chance of seeing them again. Halfway up, though, he looks back, and he swears the purple-tailed one is staring right at him.

~

He’s back at the cove the very next day. He tells himself it’s because he’d really enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere and privacy the other day. It’s probably the best spot on the beach, and if Eudora hadn’t lied—and Dave highly doubts she would—Ms. Grace isn’t gonna come chase him off with a shotgun or anything. And well, maybe he’s also a little hopeful for another sighting of the merfolk. That would be extremely cool. He isn’t counting on it, though.

Today, he sets up on one of the rocks a little ways out into the surf. It’s high up enough that the waves never come up over the top but low enough that Dave can dip his feet in the cool ocean while he relaxes. It’s relatively flat too, perfect for lying back and letting the sun wash over his body.

He settles his sunglasses over his face and closes his eyes. It’s a beautiful day—pleasantly warm, a faint breeze cooling the afternoon air against what would otherwise be blistering; the water is pleasant as well from the mild night before and a morning under the sun. Dave is just drifting off when he’s overcome by the distinct feeling of being watched.

Very slowly, he cracks his eyes open. His gaze drifts lazily down and to the right and locks with a pair of bright green eyes peering out from under a curtain of dark hair. He nearly falls clean off the rock. It’s the purple-tailed merman. “What the—”

Realizing he’s been caught, the merman gasps and disappears with a splash.

Dave scrambles upright and to the edge of the rock. “Wait!” he cries. “Don’t go! I didn’t mean to scare you.” He pushes his sunglasses onto the top of his head and searches the clear water below, desperate for another glimpse. The merman can’t have gone far, right? Several tense seconds pass. The cove is silent except the waves lapping against rock and sand. Then Dave hears a small sound in the water, and he looks up to see the top of the merman’s head peeking above the surface a few meters out.

“Hi,” he says gently as he lowers himself into a sitting position. He moves more slowly this time, pausing each time the merman looks like he wants to bolt. “My name is Dave. I won’t hurt you.” He holds out his hand to the merman, maintaining eye-contact and keeping his body language relaxed to signify that he means no harm.

The merman hesitates for a second. Then very slowly, he swims toward Dave, never rising any further out of the water. Nevertheless, the closer he draws, the faster Dave’s heart beats. This is really happening. It only feels more surreal when the merman finally gets close enough that Dave can clearly see the glimmer of his purple tail sweeping side to side beneath the clear water.

Then the merman is right there, looking up from between Dave’s feet with curious eyes. Dave keeps his hand extended. “I’m Dave,” he repeats.

The merman blinks. For a moment, Dave thinks he might not understand English, but then he reaches one hand up to touch his fingertips to Dave’s and the rest of his head rises from the water. “Klaus,” he says with a surprising degree of confidence.

Dave’s breathing falters. “Your name is Klaus?”

Klaus nods. His fingers trace lightly over Dave’s palm, exploring. “I saw you watching us last night,” he says. He turns Dave’s hand over and studies between his fingers. “You should invest in a less reflective phone case.”

“What?” Dave’s brain is scrambling to keep up. What does his phone case have to do with anything?

Klaus giggles at his confusion. “Your phone case,” he reiterates, rubbing Dave’s wrist-bone. “It’s reflective. So under the moonlight…”

“Oh.” Dave says dumbly. “Wait, back up. How—”

“How do I know about phones?” Dave nods. Klaus grins. “I human-watch a lot with my sisters, and we almost always see you humans holding those thingies. And Vanya has really good hearing, so we had her eavesdrop until she figured out what they’re called.”

Dave laughs. “Wow, that’s very… shrewd of you. Is that how you learned to speak English too?” He shivers when Klaus’ other hand comes up to pet his leg. “I assume your native language is whatever you were speaking last night.”

“We did learn English from humans,” Klaus answers. “When we talk to each other, we switch between English and our own language.”

“I’m impressed,” Dave says, watching as Klaus cards his fingers through his leg hair curiously. After a few seconds of this, he clears his throat and says, “Y’know, I feel kind of weird talking down to you.”

Klaus’ hands still, and he cocks his head. “You can come down here if you want. I’d come to you, but I have to stay in the water.” He taps his neck, and Dave notices a series of slits on each side. “Gills. Gotta keep ‘em moist.”

Dave nods. “Right.” Klaus relinquishes his hold on him and backs away to give him space to get down. Carefully, Dave lowers himself down, inching his way into the sea until his feet hit the sand. Where he is, the water only comes up to his chest, but he can see that only a few meters forward, the seafloor slopes down steeply, disappearing into darkness.

As soon as Dave is all the way down, Klaus is in his face, touching and feeling his skin. Dave laughs. “Handsy, much? You’ve never met a human before, have you?”

“Not this close,” Klaus says. He prods at the sides of Dave’s neck. “It’s so weird that you don’t have gills.”

“Well, we don’t really need them.” Dave reaches out and runs a hand over one set of Klaus’ gills. Klaus jerks like he’s not sure if he wants to flinch away from or lean into the contact. Smiling a little, Dave pulls his hand back. “Can you breathe air?”

“Technically, yes,” Klaus says. “It’s just not very efficient, and I can’t survive that way for more than a few minutes.” As if proving his point, Klaus dips down so that his gills are underwater and grins up at Dave. “So mostly I breathe through my gills.”

Dave watches rapt as Klaus’ gills ripple and pulse. Just above each set of gills are a row of tiny holes opening and closing in tandem with the gills’ movement. Dave points to them. “Are those holes how you take water in?”

“Yeah!” Klaus rises up and tilts his head to show them off. Out of the water, the holes are covered by membranes, almost blending into his skin. “Much better than gulping water all funny-looking like some common fish, don’t you think?”

Dave snorts. “Yeah, you’d look pretty stupid if you did that,” he agrees. He yelps when Klaus splashes him. “Hey! Am I wrong?”

“No, but I wanted to do that.”

Dave smiles and holds his hand out to Klaus in a truce. Klaus takes it a step further, though, clasping hands, then using Dave to draw himself closer until they’re almost chest-to-chest and Dave can feel Klaus’ fins brushing his legs. Feeling bold, Dave touches Klaus’ tail, pressing his palm flat against it and gently stroking the rough scales.

It occurs to him that what he and Klaus are doing may qualify as flirting. Certainly, Klaus is very attractive, slender and soft in the most beautiful way. He has dark brown hair that’s just shy of being curly and soulful green eyes that sparkle in the sun. His skin is smooth and pale, his lips full and pretty. And his tail is downright gorgeous. What Dave had initially taken to be purple is really a blend of several vibrant colors. There’s that lovely violet purple on the edges of his fins, yes, but there’s also pink and aqua and tiny hints of white. The fins fan out from the body of the tail gracefully, mimicking a betta fish. They’re so thin and delicate that they’re translucent, and Klaus’ ventral fin feels like silk where it grazes Dave’s skin.

It’s strange, though, finding a merman so alluring, and dancing around that attraction in conversation. It feels like something that should be forbidden. This is a creature straight out of centuries of myth, and here Dave is, drawing Klaus in closer and running his hands through his pelvic fins as if Klaus is his lover. Moments like this don’t happen except in fairytales.

And yet.

“Tell me about yourself,” Klaus says. His eyes flick down to where Dave is touching him, then back up again. “Humans have second names, right?”

“My last name is Katz,” Dave says, his hands still resting on Klaus’ tail. “That’s what we call them, last names. Or surnames.”

“Dave Katz,” Klaus says. “I like that. We don’t have last names. I mean, it’s just me and my six siblings in our pod, so there’s really no need.”

Dave hums. “Can I ask about your siblings? From what I could see last night, you guys all look really different. Is that common for merfolk?”

“No, not really,” Klaus says with a laugh. “We kind of adopted each other over the years, so we’re a weird mix.” He taps his chin. “Let’s see, the group started with Luther and Diego. They kind of bicker over who’s the ‘leader’ since there’s no way to tell which one of them was actually the first. Allison joined shortly after that, about a year before me. Then we picked up Five, and then Ben, and finally, we got Vanya.”

“And you adopted each other just because?”

“Well, we’re all either orphans or we got abandoned by our original pods.”

Dave doesn’t know what to say to that. It would definitely be wrong of him to ask which category Klaus falls under. And he’s sure Klaus doesn’t want any mushy, half-baked sympathy. He opts to change the subject. “So… you call yourselves a pod, but you’re half fish, right? So why not call yourselves a school?”

Klaus giggles and tilts his head. “That is a great question, and honestly, I have no answer. Maybe it’s because we always hear you humans referring to intelligent things like dolphins as having pods. And we’re obviously way smarter than any fish you’ll ever find, so we decided to go with pod.”

“But if we’re going by biology, it’s probably more accurate to call you a school,” Dave persists with a cheeky grin. “Now if any of you have dolphin tails, I might reconsider, but it looked to me like you’re all fish so...” He shrugs.

“Fine,” Klaus laughs. “But if we’re a school, we should be like an elite school. Like…”

“Like an academy?” Dave supplies.

“Yeah, like an academy!” He sighs and traces his hand down Dave’s arm. “You’re so smart, Dave. Tell me about your family.”

“Well,” Dave says. “I have a brother and two sisters. Mary is older than me, and Eli and Rachel are younger. My dad is a teacher and my mom owns the grocery store I work at. My mom’s parents live with us, but my dad’s parents live up north in Jersey. And I have lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins that you’d fall asleep in the middle of me naming.”

“What’s a grocery store?” Klaus asks.

Dave grins, brushes Klaus’ hair back. “Is that what you got out of all of that?” He chuckles. “A grocery store is where we buy food. And other things, like toiletries and office supplies and birthday cards, and you have no idea what any of those things are.”

Klaus shakes his head with a shy smile. “I know what a birthday is. Me and my siblings celebrate our birthday on the same day, the anniversary of when we picked up Vanya. None of us know our actual birthdays, so we decided to make it the day we all became a family.”

Dave thinks his heart might melt at how earnest and sweet Klaus sounds saying that. It’s frankly unfair that Klaus is as darling as he is attractive; it’s a lethal combo for Dave, who’s not used to being so infatuated by someone on-sight.

“Klaus, do you have any idea how adorable that is?”

“Oh, well.” Klaus blushes. “It just made sense, really.”

Rolling his eyes, Dave seeks out Klaus’ hand where it rest just above his elbow and gives it a light squeeze. “Just take the compliment.”

~

They talk until the sun begins to set, and Dave tells Klaus he has to go.

“I’ll come back tomorrow,” he promises. “I just need to go home and rest, okay?”

Klaus sighs, following as Dave makes his way back to shore. “Did I wear you out with my vibrant conversation?”

“Something like that.” Dave turns back and smiles. “Let’s just say my brain is still trying to compute the fact that I’ve just spent the day with a real life merman.” He’s about waist-deep, nearly to the point where Klaus won’t be able to follow. Before he goes any farther, he cups Klaus’ cheek gently. “Tomorrow,” he says.

Klaus places his hand over Dave’s and tilts his face into the touch. “Tomorrow,” he agrees. Then he’s slipping out of Dave’s reach and swimming away, racing off into the depths of the ocean.

Dave stares after him until he can no longer make out the purple of his tail under the waves. Shaking himself out of his stupor, he turns and wades the rest of the way to the beach.

~

That night, Dave lies awake for hours thinking about Klaus. It already feels like a dream without Klaus physically there, looking at Dave and touching him to prove that he’s real. Surely Dave hadn’t really met a merman today. And surely he isn’t falling for him. That’d be absurd.

It isn’t, though, is it? It’s real. So breathtakingly real, and Dave can’t get his mind off of Klaus, can’t stop the giddy feeling in his chest when he thinks about him.

Dave rewatches the footage he’d taken of the merfolk family last night just to prove to himself that it all really happened. The camera doesn’t lie. There’s no mistaking their glimmering tails for anything but, and there’s almost a whole minute of video where Klaus’ face is fully visible and recognizable.

A smile pulls at Dave’s lips as he watches Klaus use his tail to splash one of his brothers—the youngest of the group. The boy scowls and says something sharply, which Klaus just laughs at. However, when the kid says something else and points to the smaller mermaid, Klaus shrieks dramatically and claps his hands over his ears, sending a ripple of laughter through the group.

Dave laughs too, feeling fond. He hopes he’ll see more of that funny side of Klaus the more time they spend together. It’s cute.

He replays the whole video over and over again, never taking his eyes off of Klaus. He really is fascinating to watch. Bubbly and social, his every word is met by smiles and laughter from his siblings, including that young, serious merman. He’s a shameless ham for attention, always ensuring that at least one of his siblings is focused wholly on what he’s saying or doing.

And he’s a ham for the camera too. Dave hadn’t noticed in the moment, but every so often, Klaus looks directly at the camera. Sometimes he just glances over and then looks away. Sometimes he raises his tail in salute or tosses his hair flirtatiously. Once, Dave swears he winks before he looks away.

After the third watch-through, Dave turns off his phone. He lies in bed, staring up at the ceiling, still thinking about Klaus. Is this what it feels like to fall in love at first sight? Knots in his stomach and fluttering heart when he recalls the sound of his name in Klaus’ mouth and the feel of Klaus’ skin against his own? Mind wandering to Klaus’ lips and how soft they would be to kiss?

Dave rolls over and buries his face in his pillow with a groan. He is so fucked.

~

When Dave returns to the cove, he half expects Klaus to not show up, which is probably just him being illogical, since Klaus had indicated nothing but the desire to see him again. But what if, with an entire night between them, Klaus has decided that he doesn’t want to spend time with a human after all? Or maybe that he doesn’t want to spend time with Dave, specifically. It’s not like Dave’s the most interesting human in the world, and Klaus would not be hard pressed to find someone better.

The thought of Klaus standing him up nags at Dave the whole walk to the beach. And the walk down the beach. And the hike over the rocky path to the cove. Right up until he sees Klaus waiting eagerly in the shallows.

“Hi, Dave!” Klaus calls from where he’s lying on his stomach, propped up on his elbows. A wave washes over his back, ruffling his fins. When the water recedes, it leaves him almost completely beached.

“Hey, Klaus!” Dave drops his bag in the sand, slips out of his sandals, and walks over to Klaus. “How are you? You’re kind of far up on the beach there.”

Klaus waves a hand. “Oh, I’m fine, don’t worry about it. The bigger waves bring me plenty of water.” He pats the spot next to him. “Here, sit with me.”

Giving Klaus a skeptical look, Dave deliberately wades out to about midway up his shins before sitting down. He hears a little grumble behind him, and a moment later, Klaus comes scooting backwards to meet him.

“I was quite comfortable there, y’know,” he pouts.

“Comfortable with asphyxiating?” Dave asks. Out here, the surf rises above Klaus’ tail, and there’s much more water for him to lower his gills into, especially since the waves come up to cover them more frequently.

“I wasn’t going to asphyxiate,” Klaus insists, and when Dave raises an eyebrow, he just shrugs. “Alright, I see your point. I might have asphyxiated. But you would’ve saved me, right? Dragged my dying body back into the sea?”

“Of course,” Dave says with a laugh. “I just thought we might skip the saving part and get right to the hanging out.”

“Oh?” Klaus smirks. “That eager, huh? What’s the rush? Am I just that enticing?”

Dave rolls his eyes and lightly shoves Klaus’ shoulder, though his heart had definitely quickened a little at Klaus’ flirtatious tone. Klaus is all but the definition of enticing to Dave, but he never needs to know that. “It’s because I’m only here for ten more days,” Dave says. “Then I’m going home.”

Klaus blinks at him in surprise, as if it hadn’t occurred to him that Dave might not be staying for long. “You don’t—you don’t live here?” he asks. “Where do you live?”

“I’m from Atlanta,” Dave says. He’s met with a blank stare, and he lets out a breathy laugh and elaborates, “It’s a city, up north of here. It’s pretty far inland.”

“So why are you here?” Klaus presses. “Are you moving here later?”

“No,” Dave sighs. “I wish I lived here—it’s really nice—but no. I’m just on vacation. I rented a beach house for a couple weeks, and this is my fourth day here, so unfortunately, after today, I’ve only got ten more.”

Klaus is quiet for a moment, staring down at his hands, but then he looks up at Dave with a smile. “Well, then I guess I only have ten days to make you fall in love with me.”

~

“Tell me more about your family,” Dave asks. “There are seven of you, right?”

Klaus nods. “Yeah, it’s me, Ben, Diego, Allison, Five, Luther, and Vanya.”

Dave, stretched out on a low rock, takes out his phone, pulls up one of the pictures he took of the group, and shows Klaus. “Tell me who’s who.”

It’s a dark photo with not a lot of details visible, but Klaus identifies each of his siblings easily, describing their personalities as he points to them.

“That’s Luther.” Klaus taps on the largest merman. “You can tell because he’s way bigger than the rest of us. He’s kind of a dick sometimes, but he also protects the group from danger, so it’s a bit of a trade-off. He tore through a fishing net with his bare hands once, when Ben got caught.”

“Oh, wow.” Dave squints at Luther and his hulking muscles. He can only imagine the raw strength he must have. “Wow. Okay, which one is Ben?”

“That one,” Klaus says, pointing to the one with the sleek black hair. “He’s kind of our peacekeeper. Everybody likes him, and he’s the only one of us who never gets in a fight with anyone because no one wants to upset him. It’s like trying to hunt a seahorse—you just feel bad. Even Diego,” Klaus taps on the black-tailed merman, “doesn’t fight with him.”

Dave laughs. “Does Diego like to fight?”

“Understatement of the century, Davey,” Klaus says, patting his arm. “He’s completely fearless. I’m pretty sure he’s fought a shark before. At least that’s where he says he got those scars.” Klaus traces two lines on his own face, one along the side of his head and one over his eyebrow. “You have to be careful about pissing him off too—he’s got these spines on his fins and they hurt like a bitch. He’s also a ridiculously good hunter.”

He points to the smaller mermaid. “Vanya’s pretty good too, surprisingly. She’s really quiet and mostly hangs out on the seafloor when she can, but she can make this sound that’ll knock out any fish within a hundred feet. It’s like this really strident sawing sound—it’s crazy powerful. We’re lucky she doesn’t like to do it.”

“I’ll bet,” Dave says. He reaches out and tugs on the top of Klaus’ ear playfully. “Is that the reason I saw you cover your ears when the kid pointed to her?”

“Yeah!” Klaus laughs as points to the smallest merman. “Oh, man, good old Five. Y’know he’s actually the same age as the rest of us? He just ages differently, I think.”

“Really?”

“Yup, and he’s another one you don’t want to mess with. He might be small, but he’s fast. If you ever get in a fight with him, you can’t blink because by then, he’s already swum around, and he’ll get you from behind. The only ones he can’t sneak up on are Vanya and Allison. Vanya because her hearing is really good, and Allison because her lateral line works even faster than Five can swim. And she’s got a super commanding presence. If she tells you to stop, you obey her.”

“Oh, nice. I bet she likes having that kind of power.”

Klaus nods. “It’s really good for breaking up squabbles. Actually, it’s the best remedy for Diego and Luther’s fights, short of Ben jumping into the fray or Vanya knocking them out.”

Dave chuckles. “Okay, this might be kind of a strange question, but how’d you all get your names? Did you pick them yourselves or did you get them before—” Dave cuts himself off, wanting to phrase the circumstances of their co-adoption as delicately as possible. “I mean, did you have your names before you became a family?”

Shaking his head, Klaus says, “No, we chose our names. We all used to have names from our original families, but they only brought up painful memories for those of us who could remember our birth-pods, and it was just upsetting to the rest, who’d never known their families at all. So we picked out new names that we liked.”

Dave nods. “Do your names have any particular meanings? Or did you pick them for how they sound?”

“Mostly for how they sound,” Klaus says. “Except for Five. He chose that because he was the fifth one to join the pod.”

“Really?” Dave laughs, a little incredulous. “Well, points to him for practicality,” he says. “It’s not my favorite, though.”

Klaus grins. “Is that so? And which one is your favorite, might I ask?”

Dave returns the smile and rubs the back of Klaus’ neck, carding his hand through the hair at the back of his neck. “Klaus.”

~

“So these... are so you can look at the sun?”

Dave is sitting in the water, Klaus sprawled out next to him, toying with his sunglasses. It’s the fifth day he’s come back to see Klaus since they first met, and this has kind of become their preferred setup. He still worries a little that Klaus will have trouble breathing, but Klaus seems to have plenty of fun waiting for the waves to wash over his gills so he can suck in as much oxygen as possible. He hasn’t died from oxygen deprivation yet either, so Dave is starting to relax into the knowledge that he’s probably okay.

Dave laughs when Klaus puts the sunglasses on and looks at him. “No one looks directly at the sun,” he says, adjusting the glasses on Klaus’ face. “It just makes it easier to see when it’s bright out. They’re kind of like a light filter.”

“Oh, we have those built in,” Klaus says. “See?” He lowers the glasses, and Dave nearly screams when dark reddish membranes close horizontally across his eyes.

“Klaus, what the hell!? You have a second pair of eyelids!?”

Klaus giggles and opens his eyes again as he hands the sunglasses back. “Yep. Like I said, built-in light filters.”

“Huh.” Dave chucks his sunglasses back toward the rest of his stuff on shore. “So when were you planning to tell me about your biological sunglasses anyway? Were you just gonna wait until my last day here and then spring it on me?”

Klaus shakes his head. “No, I was gonna wait until I could lure you all the way out into the open ocean and to your watery grave, and then as I dragged you down, I would make that the last thing you see.”

Dave coughs. “Excuse me? You really do that?” He nudges Klaus with his elbow. “I hope that’s not the only reason you keep coming to see me.”

“And what if it is?”

“Not gonna lie, I’d be kind of hurt,” Dave says with a grin.

“Aw, Davey, you don’t want to be my dinner?” Klaus teases, rolling over to drape himself over Dave’s lap and smile up at him.

Dave smiles back and cups Klaus’ face. “Not particularly, no,” he says, stroking his cheek. “I like me best when I’m alive and in one piece.”

“Well, then you’ll be happy to know that we don’t eat humans. I tried one once, and I have to say, you taste like shit.”

“Um.” Dave’s hand stills. Several very awkward seconds pass before Klaus bursts out laughing, shoulders shaking where they rest on Dave’s legs.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” He reaches up and bats at Dave’s chest playfully. “Geez, Davey, you gotta lighten up! You take everything too seriously,” Dave catches Klaus’ hand and without thinking, presses a kiss to his palm. Klaus’ laughter falters, and he stares up at Dave with wide eyes, lips parted in surprise. “Dave…”

Realizing what he’s done, Dave flushes and lets go of Klaus. “Sorry,” he mumbles. Holy shit, why did he do that? That’s definitely gonna make things weird between them. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“It’s okay,” Klaus says. He has a strange look on his face that Dave can’t quite read, and his hand is still hovering a breath away from Dave’s face. For the briefest moment, his fingers brush against Dave’s lips; then his hand is gone, and he’s sitting up.

“I should probably go,” he says, and Dave feels his heart sink.

“Yeah,” he says. “Yeah, sure.” He watches sadly as Klaus pushes himself backward, away from the beach, and can’t help but think he may have messed up everything. With a sigh, he stands and begins the lonely trudge back to shore.

“Oh, Dave?” Klaus calls. Dave turns, willing himself not to feel hopeful. Klaus offers him a smile. “I like you best when you’re alive too.” And then he’s gone.

~

The next day, they pretend it didn’t happen. And the day after that. They talk about other things—what do merfolk eat? (mostly fish) What do humans eat? (a lot of things) Do merfolk sleep more like humans or fish? (they sleep like humans)—and they become closer and closer with each passing second, each tenderly spoken word and tentative touch. But they never do more than dance around the ever-growing attraction that they share. The tension is there, though, some unspoken thing that neither of them want to acknowledge.

What would be the point? Dave is leaving in four days, and then they may never see each other again. It’s not like Dave is a frequent vacationer, and even if he does come back, who’s to say one or both of them won’t have moved on? And besides, what chance would a merman and a human have anyway? That only works out in fairytales.

By the third day, though, Dave starts to feel like maybe they should talk about it, if only just to have a little closure. The only thing worse than leaving Klaus would be leaving Klaus without ever knowing if he feels the same way about Dave as Dave does about him. So as the evening is dimming around them, he finally plucks up the courage to confess his feelings to Klaus.

“Klaus, I have to tell you something,” he says. He’s standing chest-deep in the ocean, balanced on a sandbar that Klaus had led him to.

“Hm?” Klaus asks as he swims lazy circles around him.

Dave catches his arm and gently pulls him to a halt. “Klaus.”

“I’m listening,” Klaus snaps. He sighs and rubs Dave’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, Davey, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to get short with you, I’m just… I guess I’m just anxious about you leaving. I’m really gonna miss you.”

Dave loops his arms around Klaus’ waist and pulls him close, resting their foreheads together. “I know, Klaus. I’ll miss you too,” he murmurs. “And that’s kind of why we need to talk.”

“Oh?” Klaus pulls back, his eyes searching, his expression a little sad.

It makes Dave’s heart ache, and he gently cradles Klaus’ face with both hands, pinkies stroking lightly over the top of his gills. “Klaus, I—fuck it, I’m just gonna say it. I love you. I love you so much, and it hurts like hell for me to be leaving you. And it’s okay if you don’t feel the same, but I couldn’t just walk away without—oh!”

And suddenly, Dave has an armful of Klaus, and Klaus’ mouth is sealed over his in a passionate kiss. He kisses back, wrapping his arms tighter around Klaus and dragging him in against his body. Klaus’ hands come up to card through his hair, fingertips scraping lightly over his scalp, and he sighs. It’s every bit as amazing as he’s been dreaming of, equal parts sweet and feverish, as they move together. Klaus fits perfectly against him, and his fins flutter in excitement when Dave deepens the kiss.

Long minutes later, they break apart, gasping and laughing, noses still bumping against one another as they try to catch their breaths. “I love you too,” Klaus breathes.

Dave grins, feeling dizzy. “You do?”

“More than you know.” Klaus presses another kiss to Dave’s lips. “I’ve wanted to do that since the first moment we met.”

Dave’s pretty sure his heart stops for a good, solid second at Klaus’ words. He can’t believe someone as beautiful and wonderful as Klaus could want him like that. It’s a dream-come-true and a nightmare all at once, because Klaus is in his arms, and they’re both in love, and in just a few days, Dave will be driving away, returning to his home hundreds of miles away from Klaus.

“I don’t want to leave you,” Dave says.

“Then don’t,” Klaus answers, his voice almost pleading. “Stay here with me.”

“Klaus… I can’t. I have a job, a house, a whole life in Atlanta. It’s not as simple as just staying, as much as I want to be with you.” Dave rubs up and down Klaus’ back, cherishing the feelings of soft skin under his hands. “I _do_ want to be with you.”

Klaus sighs. “I know. And I understand why you have to leave anyway. But I wish you could stay.”

Dave smiles tightly. “Hey, look on the bright side,” he says. “We have three more days together after this. That’s better than none, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” Klaus says. “I just wish it was more than that.”

With a small tug, Dave draws Klaus closer, into a gentle embrace. His eyes close as he takes in the moment. Cool moonlight on his face, warm waves cradling his body, Klaus’ arms around him, chins resting on each other’s shoulders. In his mind, he snaps a photograph.

~

Klaus isn’t there the next day.

Instead, Dave crests the rocks to the sight of six other merpeople, all clustered around or sitting on one rock, waiting for him. A quick glance at the group tells Dave that these are Klaus’ siblings—he recognizes them from his second night here, when he’d snuck down and watched them—and another glance tells him that they’re not all pleased to see him.

He thinks about turning around and leaving. It’s not as if any of them can come on land and stop him. But one of them—Diego, Dave thinks—is toying with a very sharp-looking shell, staring Dave down and daring him to do anything but come and face them. Dave watches him pick up a second shell and hurl it a considerable distance out into the water. A moment later, a large fish floats to the surface, dead, the shell embedded in its side. Yep. Definitely Diego.

Diego looks up with a fierce smile that is part invitation and part threat. Dave swallows. He does not want to know how a shell will feel in his back, so he climbs down to the beach and approaches the group. He walks across a path of rocks leading out to the one where the merfolk are, stopping just before he reaches them.

“Come closer,” one of the mermaids, who Dave assumes is Allison, says. “We’re not going to hurt you. Right, Diego?”

Diego shrugs. “I dunno, Allison, I’m not making any promises yet.”

“Diego…” Allison warns. Her wing-like fins flutter in annoyance.

Diego throws his hands up. “Fine.” He tosses the shell over his shoulder. “I promise I won’t hurt the human.”

Allison’s fins fold back down, and she smiles. “Thank you.”

With his main concern now safely sinking to the seafloor, Dave steps over to the last rock and sits down. Next to him are Allison and the other mermaid, Vanya, as well as Diego, and in the water are Luther, Ben, and Five.

“So,” Luther starts. “You’re the human that our brother is so enamored with.” Dave shifts under Luther’s narrow-eyed scrutiny and tries not to think too hard about how much his tail resembles that of a shark. “Not exactly what I was picturing, but you’re not the worst-looking human I’ve seen.”

“Um.” Dave smiles weakly, unsure if he should take that as a compliment or not. “Thank you?”

“Don’t thank him yet,” Diego says. He leans into Dave’s space, and Dave tries not to flinch at the proximity of his lionfish-like spines. “What do you want with Klaus, hm? Are you a photographer? A researcher? _A collector?_ ”

Dave’s mouth drops open. “No!” he cries, feeling a little sick. “It’s nothing like that, I swear. I’m—I’m just on vacation here, and I would never hurt him. I—I love him.”

Five scoffs, his large dorsal fin flaring in clear irritation. “You don’t love him. And if you do, it’s for the wrong reasons—that’s how all humans are about merfolk. You think we’re just some exotic, pretty things to be paraded around like trophies.”

“What? No—”

“You may have a point, Five,” Vanya interjects, “But he seems nice enough, and Klaus seems to really love him too. Maybe he really does have good intentions.” She smiles softly at Dave, and Dave feels a little better knowing that at least she and Allison seem like they approve of him.

“It could be a front,” Five argues.

“And it could be genuine,” Allison says. “I’m with Vanya here, he doesn’t strike me as anything more than a regular human.”

Luther frowns and crosses his arms. “That might not be a good thing. I hate to agree with Diego, but I’m not sure we should let him see Klaus anymore.”

Dave’s heart sinks. Would they really take Klaus away from him? Now, when they only have a couple more days together anyway? He feels the urge to cry, as the siblings begin to bicker and talk over each other, all wanting a say in what they do about Dave.

Then a new voice speaks up. “Why don’t we take a poll?” Everyone turns to look at Ben, who’d been quietly watching the argument unfold. He hauls himself up onto the rock, orange and white striped tail gleaming in the light. “We can decide if it’s okay for the human to come back based on the outcome.” The others mumble their assent, and Ben nods. “Alright, who doesn’t like him?”

Diego’s hand goes up immediately, followed closely by Five and Luther.

“Okay,” Ben says. “And who does like him?”

Allison and Vanya raise their hands, as does Ben himself, making it a dead tie.

“Great,” Five mutters. “Too bad we can’t ask Klaus, since he’s already biased.”

“Biased against what? What’s going on?” Everyone turns.

Dave’s heart soars. Never has he been so happy to see Klaus as he is right now. “Klaus!” he calls. “Klaus, where’ve you been?”

Klaus’ eyes light up. “Davey!” He breaks through the three mermen in the water and leaps out of the water and into Dave’s arms, pressing sloppy kisses all over his face.

Dave laughs and catches Klaus’ lips with his own, dragging him into a proper kiss. It’s been less than a day since he’s had his arms around Klaus and his hands in Klaus’ hair as they kiss, but even that feels like it’s been far too long. How is he supposed to survive the rest of his life without this?

They break apart at the sound of someone awkwardly clearing their throat. All of Klaus’ siblings have their eyes averted, faces pink.

“Oh, uh. Sorry,” Dave mumbles, feeling a little bad for making them watch that.

Klaus, however, seems to lack such shame about making out in front of his family, and he just grins and cuddles closer to Dave. “Guys, this is Dave. He’s the human I keep telling you about.”

Luther coughs. “No, yeah, we got that,” he says, face still flushed. “We can definitely see that. Now get back down here in the water before you hurt yourself.”

Grumbling a little about how Luther’s being overdramatic, Klaus reluctantly detaches himself from Dave and slides off the rock with a small splash. Dave looks between Klaus and the three merfolk still sitting on the rock with him.

“Are you guys…?”

Ben laughs and shakes his head. “We’re fine. I guess Klaus didn’t tell you, but he’s the only one of us who can’t function without constant water. The rest of us might get a little uncomfortable on land, but we’re fully amphibious.”

“Aw, Klaus.” Dave scoots to the edge of the rock and runs a hand through Klaus’ hair. “That’s not very good luck, is it?”

Klaus leans up into Dave’s hand. “No, it really isn’t. Maybe you should come down here with me so I can kiss you some more.” Dave glances over nervously at Diego, and Klaus snorts. “Don’t worry about him, he won’t hurt you.” He turns to Diego and smiles sweetly. “If you hurt Dave, I will rip out every single one of your spines.”

Diego snorts. “Yeah, yeah, fine. But if he hurts _you_ ,” he glares at Dave, “the deal’s off.” He backs down then, swimming a few feet away, and Dave slips into the water next to Klaus, who immediately swoops in for a kiss.

“Could you two _please_ be a little more modest,” Five says flatly, studying his nails. “You’re rotting my teeth.”

“Bite me,” Klaus retorts and ignores the eye-roll he gets. “Anyway, Dave, welcome to my family. I’m sorry if they scared you—they can be kind of overprotective.”

“No, it’s okay,” Dave assures him. “I understand if they don’t trust humans. I’m sure you’ve had your fair share of bad encounters with us, or at least things we’ve made.”

“Well, at least he’s self-aware,” Diego mumbles.

“Oh, you shut up, you big hypocrite,” Klaus says. To Dave, he says, “Diego has a human girlfriend, but he’s got it in his head that she and Ms. Grace are the only humans we can trust, which is the only reason he doesn’t like you yet. You’re challenging his firmly-held beliefs about humans.”

Dave chuckles as he pulls Klaus closer. “Sorry about that, Diego,” he says. “I’ll try to avoid doing any more belief-shaking in the future.”

“It’s fine,” Diego says, and Dave pretends he doesn’t catch his little half smile.

“Well, now that that’s all settled,” Klaus says. “We can all agree to not drown Dave, right? Because I love him, and if he dies, I may beach myself in my grief.”

That gets all of Klaus’ siblings hastily agreeing, even if Dave is sure they know as well as he does that Klaus is exaggerating. Klaus just has a flair for the dramatic.

“So does this mean we’ll be seeing more of you?” Vanya asks in a quiet voice. All eyes turn to Dave.

“Ah, about that,” he says. He winces when he feels Klaus let out a sad exhale, and he tightens his grip on Klaus’ waist. “I’m… leaving soon. I have to go home.”

“Wait, what?” Allison exclaims. “How soon? Are we talking one week? Two weeks?”

Dave bites his lip. “Two days.” He looks around the group, and sees his own thoughts reflected in all of their eyes. In two days, he’s going to break their brother’s heart.

~

All of Dave’s things are packed, and he’s about to leave town. He’d spent all of the day before down at the cove with Klaus, and only half an hour ago, they’d said their tearful goodbyes and shared one last kiss. Though Dave had promised that he’d come back someday, he has no idea when that might be. It could be a few months from now, or it could be years.

It isn’t nearly enough, but Dave had left Klaus his sunglasses as something to remember him by, and Klaus had cut off a lock of hair to send with Dave.

Now, Dave is going back to Patch’s Souvenirs to say goodbye to Eudora. He remembers his promise to tell her if he ever saw a mermaid, and he thinks she might want to hear that he had indeed encountered real merfolk, including the merman her friend had seen so many years ago. And he needs yet another pair of sunglasses.

Eudora is reading behind the counter when Dave comes in. She glances up at the sound of the door. “Oh, hi!” she says. “I remember you. Dave, right?”

“Yeah,” Dave says. He crosses to the counter, hands shoved in his pockets. “I don’t mean to be weird, but I wanted to come say goodbye before I took off. I’m leaving today.”

Eudora nods. “I’m guessing that’s not all, though?”

Damn she’s good. Dave laughs nervously. “Yeah, actually. I wanted to let you know that I did see that merman again—the one with the purple tail that I wasn’t sure was actually a merman last time I was here. Thought you might like to tell your friend that she’s not the only one who’s seen a merman around here. There’s actually a whole family.”

Eudora hums, drumming her fingers on the counter. “Okay, Dave, full disclosure, but my friend didn’t see a merman.”

Dave startles. “Wait, but—”

“I did,” Eudora finishes. “I saw the merman with the black tail.” She smiles up at him sheepishly, and it clicks for Dave.

“Oh my god.” He gapes at her. “You’re Diego’s girlfriend, aren’t you?”

“The one and only,” Eudora says. “Sorry I didn’t tell you the truth before. I wasn’t entirely sure if I could trust you with it yet, but I just talked with Diego last night, and he told me that you and Klaus had really hit it off.”

Dave laughs sadly. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

Eudora looks at him with an odd look in her eyes for a moment, then says, “Y’know if you want to stay with him, I can always offer you a job here. Patch’s Souvenirs is a family business, and I’m sure my dad would be happy to take you on.”

Dave pauses. Could that really work? “I… Eudora, that’s a really nice offer, but I dunno. Even if your dad does want to hire me, I don’t have a house here.”

“Well,” Eudora smiles. “Ms. Grace does have a nice little side house that she’s been wanting to rent out, and since Diego and them are like her kids, I’m sure she’s heard all about you by now.”

Dave shakes his head, grinning. “Man, you really have this all thought out. Have you and Klaus been conspiring behind my back?”

“Only a little.” She shrugs. “I guess Klaus told Diego how much he wants you to stay here, because Diego asked me last night if I could try to convince you to stay. I told him no guarantees, since I’d only met you a couple times before, but I did promise him that I’d try.”

Seems that Diego doesn’t completely hate him after all. Dave is a little awed and very touched at Klaus’ determination to keep him around. And the more he thinks about it, the more he wants to take Eudora up on her offer. It’ll be a bit of a shock for his parents, and he’ll miss everyone in Atlanta, but for Klaus, he thinks it’s most definitely worth it. Besides, this is a nice town, and he can already see himself making new friends with both the human residents and the other merfolk. After a long minute, he makes up his mind.

“Can you pass on a message for me?” he asks. Eudora nods. “Tell Klaus that I still have to go back to Atlanta to tie things up there, but then I’m coming back. I’m coming back for him.”

~

Just two months later, Dave is sitting against a rock, perched on an underwater ledge, with Klaus curled up in his lap. They’re watching the sunset together, holding each other comfortably as the sun paints the sky with brilliant colors. The edge of the sky looks a little bit like Klaus’ tail, a fact that Dave points out.

“You think so?” Klaus lifts his tail into the air and squints, comparing the two. “Okay, I see it.” Dave sighs happily and adjusts his grip when Klaus drops his tail back down and lays his head against Dave’s chest. “Some things never get any less beautiful,” Klaus says, staring off toward the horizon dreamily.

Dave looks down at Klaus and kisses the top of his head. “Indeed they don’t,” he says.

Laughing, Klaus gives his chest a loving pat. “David Katz, you are such a flirt.”

“Maybe.” Dave takes Klaus’ hand and kisses his palm, then each knuckle, making Klaus giggle in delight. Then he cups Klaus’ cheek and kisses him as deeply as he can. “I love you,” he says against Klaus’ lips.

Klaus’ lashes flutter on Dave’s cheek, and his lips curve into a soft smile. “I love you too.” And as the sun sets and the moon rises, Dave never wants to be anywhere but here with Klaus and their happily ever after.

.

.

.

The end.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for reading, I’ve had lots of fun writing this piece! I know absolutely nothing about merfolk anatomy so take any information I’ve written with a grain of salt. I haven't drawn concepts for everyone (though I have the images in my brain), but [here](https://lastoftherealblues.tumblr.com/post/185004597684/concept-sketch-for-mermanklaus-from-my-mermay) I’ve done a concept sketch for Klaus. If you’re curious about why Klaus covers his ears when Five points to Vanya, have a look at the sounds the [Featherfin Catfish](https://assets.rbl.ms/10343772/980x.jpg) makes [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU_0YMwld3I). Now imagine that like 100x louder and more intense, and that’s what Vanya can do. Her tail is also based off of the Featherfin Catfish.
> 
> As for the rest of the family's tails, Luther's is based off of the [Blue Shark](https://www.georgekarbusphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/blue_shark_in_deep_blue_azores.jpg), Diego's is based off of the [Volitan Lionfish](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1141/1330/products/Volitan-Lionfish-blk.jpg?v=1531588137), Allison's is based off of the [Flying Fish](https://wildnikki09.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/flying-fish.jpg), Five's is based off of the [Atlantic Sailfish](https://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/mediumlarge/1/4-atlantic-sailfish-istiophorus-albicans-pete-oxford.jpg), and Ben's is based off of the [Ascension Thalassoma](http://www.smsg-falklands.org/images/blog/2013/02/20120827-DSC_1406-1024x685.jpg). Thank you all again so much for reading! Comment and kudos are always loved and cherished, and you can catch me on tumblr [@lastoftherealblues](http://lastoftherealblues.tumblr.com/)!


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